Elastic fabric



Nov. 8, 1938.

H. K. LEA

ELASTIC FABRIC Filed March 28, 1935 @119.

Patented Nov. 8,1938 y y UNITED STAT-Es PATE-NT oFFlcE nnas'rlo maare Harry K. Lea, Johnstown, N. Y., asslgnor to Keni lea Manufacturing Corporation, Johnstown,

Application .rif-.ch 28, 1935, Serial No. 13,576 iciaam. (cias-1i' This invention relates to certain new and usefabric with a rubber `cement or adhesive and ful improvements in a knitted elastic fabric for to apply flocking material to the rubber cement use in the manufacture of various articles. or adhesive because the handling of woven fabric Elastic fabrics have been produced, but in the during such treatment does not present any difli- 5 majority of Sueh cases, the fabricis 0f the. cu1ty. There is a minimum cf stretch in woven 5 woven type and is possessed of a minimum of fabric and for lthis reason,` the same can be stretch in either direction of the fabric and while maintained in a taut condition while the adheettempts have been made to produce an elastic sive is being applied thereto and also the flockknitted fabric by adhesively applying preformed ing material with the latter evenly distributed rubber sheets thereto, such attempts have in thereover. Numerous difculties have heretofore 10 general been unsuccessful in view of the loose been encountered in the handling of knitted maweave of knitted fabric and the fact that it ,is terial, such as jersey, due to the unusua1 stretchdimcult to maintain a knitted fabric in a flat ing qualitiespossessed by such knitted fabric, or unwrinkledcondition while applying such but the value of a knitted elastic fabric havpreformed .rubber sheet. ing a ocked coating is well appreciated in the 15 It is therefore the primary object of this invenartI because a fabric can be produced which tion to provide a knitted elastic fabric in which possesses increased tensile strength within vthe the fabric to be treated may be of such matelimits of the normal stretch of the knitted fabric rial as jersey and cotton, wool, silk, artificial silk and to present on the flocked side a smooth and or the like with such material possessing i'nsoft velvetyfinish that renders such material 20 l creased stretching qualities that have an adheespecially suited forthe manufacture of artisive or rubber cement of a particular type apcles of wearing apparel, such as girdlea'corsets, plied thereto in a semi-huid condition and evenand brassires. The increased tensile strength 1y spread thereover with ndcking material apinherent in the treated knitted fabric permits plied to the adhesive or rubber cement before free body movement when the material is em- 25 vulcanization to produce a smooth and soft vele bodied in a garment and the elasticity thereof vety finish on one side of the fabric. whichevidences an increased pull would to some A still furtherobject of the invention is to extent perform the service of a reducer. The provide a knitted elastic fabric of the foregoing knitted elastic fabric is provided with a multicharacter with a multiplicity of minute perfoplicity of minute perforations extending there- 3o rations thereinlthat are normally concealed at through which are concealed at the fabric side the fabric side of the material, but clearly vieW- of the article and clearly viewable at the flocked able lat the flocked side thereof` and eective side thereof which permits abundant circulation for breathing and ventilation when the knitted for air when the fabric is made into a garment.

elastic fabric is manufactured into articles of The reference character 5 designatesl a strip 35 wearing apparel. of knitted fabric or cloth that may be of the With the above and other objects in view that character of Jersey silk, cotton, Wool, silk, artie will become apparent as the nature of the invencial silk or the like -Which possesses inherent tion is better understood, the same consists in stretching qualities. An adhesive or rubber cethe novel form, combination and arrangement ment 6 is then spread onto the knitted fabric 40 of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown and While the adhesive or rubber cement-is in a in the accompanying drawing and'claimed. tacky state, comrninuted material or flock indi- In the drawing:- l y cated by the reference character 'I is applied to Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the the adhesive or rubber cement for adherence piece of knitted elastic fabric constructed in thereto. The adhesive or rubber cement is ap- 45 accordance with the present invention and showplied to the knitted fabric by means of a spreading the Successive layers of knitted fabric, ad er blade or knife and in the absence of pressure hesive or rubber cement and fiocking material; application of any character with the result Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view that theadhesive or rubber cement adheres to graphically naming the layers and disclosing the surface of the knitted fabric and is not forced 50 the calibrations; Vand v into the interstices thereof. Graphic calibra- Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the tions of the relative thicknesses of the knitted flocked side of the fabric with the minute fabric, adhesive or rubberfcement and the hockbreathing perforations therein being viewable. ing material are indicated by the reference It is now common practice to coat woven character 8 in Figure 2. Y 55 The laminated structure is then subjected to a drying operation for the removal of moisture from the adhesive cr rubber cement and the latter is allowed to become substantially dry. At this' time a multiplicity of minute openings B are formed in the structure for the purposes of ventilation and as these openings are formed in the structure, including, of course, the adhesive or rubber cement while the latter is in a` substantially dry and plastic condition, and before vulcanization, the openings permanently maintain the form imparted thereto. The laminated I structure is then subjected to a vulcanization process and the knitted elastic fabric is com- -pleted and ready for use in the manufacture of various articles.

As will be understood, the fabric thus formed presents a number of characteristic features. For instance, the opposite faces of the fabric are formed of zones of material of' dissimilar type. The face zone 5 is of knitted fabric, free from elasticity excepting that provided by the knitted characteristic of the material itself--no4 rubber strands being incorporated within the zone-and thus distinguishing from the usual elastic fabrics; at the` same time, the knitted characteristic of the zone, permits stretching in` all -directions corresponding to the plane of the zone and fabric, a condition that is not present with woven fabrics. In other words, the face 5 has the characteristics of the usual knitted fabrics, such as Jersey cloth, silk, etc., with the advantages which accrue tov such type of fabrics.

It is in this respect that the present fabric provides its greatest diillculty in production. Due to the fact that the zone 5 is stretchable in all directions. it is of a type that is considered to be iiimsy for use in connection with complete fabrics which involve machine activity on the zone fabric after the4 latter has been fashioned. Because of the iiimsy nature of the fabric, it becomes readily stretched during machine operation, but such stretching is limited to a single direction, so that when treated in producing the completed fabric, the treatment will presenta condition that the fabric is stretched in one direction and unstretched in the transverse direction, so that the treatment leaves the fabric lacking in uniformity of stretch-l ing possibilities such as are found in knitted fabrics.

Because of this condition, fabric of this type has had its treatment more in the nature of what is termed a dipping process, in which the knitted fabric -is treated by `placing thematerial into a receptacle rather than treatment in the flat, the receptacle carrying 4the treating material. In such cases, the' opposite surfaces of the zone fabric are coated or treated-depending on the characterof the complete fabric-so that the natural appearance of the knitted fabric is changed, -if the coating is permitted to remain;

if the coating is removed, the treatment reaches only to the interior of the fabric, and is more `in the nature of the treatment of the strands of the fabric as individuals.

In the present fabric, however, the zone 5 has its exposed face presenting the natural appearance of the knitted fabric, the rubber cement zone 6 not reaching to the faceit 4being concealed-so that the appearance on one -side of the composite fabric is that of the normal knitted fabric. This is made possible by the development of a process which enables this knitted fabric to be subjected to machine operation with ine fabric maintained im, but without subiming the fabric to stretching operation in any direction during treatment, so that the treatment itself is provided while the fabric is in its normalv These opposite face zones are united together` by the rubber cement zone 6, the latter uniting the two face zones togetherl in the composite fabric, and without providing any interconnection of the material of one face zone with that of the' other zone. In other words, it4 serves to render the opposite zones individual as to material and texture, but at the same time unites themV permanently so that the two zones are inseparable. And since neither zone presents a material that is stretchablel laterally ofits plane,

and the rubber uniting layer is-wo thin to permit of any material stretch in such direction,

the stretcli'ability of the composite fabric is limited to movements in the plane of the fabric itself. Since this layer lies intermediate the two face layers or` zones, the rubber layer is hidden from view by the face zones; so that the composite fabric has'the appearance only of the opposite faces each having a natural appearance.

In the production of the composite fabric the knitted fabricis advanced without stretch, and during the advance receives the rubber cement from a supply, the cement being delivered and spread over the top surface of the knitted `fabric without any material pressure; as a result the 40 c ement is not pressed into the fabric itself; this can be understood froml the fact that the fabric is unstretched at the time so that the fabric has its normal appearance'with the threads inthe usual contacting arrangement. Hence, the cement doesnot paas through the fabric but lies on the surface, conforming to the surface characteristics and adheres to the fabric. As will be seen from Fig. 2, the 'thickness of the cement layer at least equals the thickness of the knittedi fabric. Sincerthe cement is capable of flowing at the time of application, it can be readily spread. As the knitted fabric, now carryln the cement layer, continues its advance, the iicking material is applied to cement layer, thus causing the flocking material to become .adherent to the applied cement to form the opposite face ofthe compomte fabric: The embryo composite fabric then continues its advance through a drying chamber, to remove moisture, during which the excess flocking material is brushed oif, and drying continued, after which the fabric passes to a puncturing station in which a multitude of small openings are made through the rubber cement layer by a cylinder carrying a large number of pins which pass through the fabric. The dried fabric is later vulcanized, either as a continuation of the fabric advance to the receiving roll, or by separate action.

the'top surface of the 55 fabric, now to be referred to, will be better understood. I

As will be understood, a layer of the rubber cement thus applied, would not only provide for an adherent relation to the opposite face zones, but would, when vulcanized, provide an imperforate sheet-like structure in the absence of the pin-hole perforations referred to; since the latter are provided prior to vulcanization, they will be retained in the vulcanized structure, and, in service, can serve as breathing openings to permit passage of air through the fabric. However, they provide an additional service, as will be in dicated by the following:

As will be understood, a vulcanized layer or sheet such as indicated at 6, is capable of `stretching in all directions in its plane. But while this elasticity is present in this layer, it is somewhat different from that which is present in the knitted fabric, the rubber layer oering greater resistance to stretch than does the fabric, and is thus less flimsy. This effect is reduced to a material effect by the pin-hole perforations,

these permitting stretching ofthe rubber layer with an ease approaching somewhat that of the knitted fabric, so that the composite fabric has more of the characteristic of the type of elastic fabrics in which strands of rubber are woven into and as a part of the fabric itself, the present structure having the advantage over this type in that the rubber of the present fabric is continuous and thus' does' not have the dicultie's which so far as stretch is concernedboth are in the normal natural condition. In this respect the composite fabric is somewhat of the characteristic of the fabric which includes the rubber strands in woven form, although, in the latter, it is diicultto provide the weaving action without placing more or less stretch on the rubber strands, so that the fabric portion, in repose, does not always present the natural woven appearance due to the tendency of the strands to assume their normal unstretched'condition; in such cases, the tendency is to crowd the fabric weave when the composite fabric is in repose. This isavoided in the present fabric through the fact that the knitted fabric receives its rubber cement while the-fabric is unstretched and while the cement isin non-stretchable condition, so

that the two are brought into co-operative relation while under conditions ofrepose. Hence,

with the resistance to stretch characteristic between the two layers brought into closer relation, freedom of stretch is increased by permitting greater freedom of the knitted fabric to have its normal stretch action in all directions of the fabric plane.

Hence, the present" fabric has freedom of elasticity comparable toiv that of elastic fabrics of the woven type which have the rubber strand .woven into the fabric, but with the freedom extending in all directions of the fabric plane, and without the liability of`breakage of rubber strands; at the same time, assurance is-had that when ,the

fabric is in repose, it will present its knitted fabric face in its natural appearance form, since the rubber layer is also in its repose condition at such time.

'Since the rubber layer does not penetrate provided by the knitting alone and which is insuiicient to set up the conditions of an efficient elastic fabric.

In view of the inherent stretching character-` istics of knitted fabric, such as Jersey material or the like, it has heretofore been practically impossible to coat a,- knitted fabric with an adhesive or rubber cement and to apply ocking material to the adhesive or rubber cementwhile in a .plastic condition with the adhesive or rubber cement and flocking material evenly and smoothly distributed over the knitted fabric. The process employed in the manufacture of this knitted elastic fabric and the apparatusifor practicing ing applications filed by Harry K. Lea on Mar. 28,

1935, and Apr. 20, 1935, Serial Numbers 13,575 and 17,527, respectively.

A material of this character may be embodied in the manufacture of various articles and. when used in the manufacture of garments, such as girdles, brassires or corsets, the minute perforations 9 afford suflicient breathing. withthe normal elimination of perspiration in the presence of the adhesive o'r rubber cement. The knitted fabric which isirubberized and flocked possesses its inherent and natural stretching characteristicsand the tensile strength imparted thereto by the adhesive or rubber cement appli cation provides an increased pull for retaining the conned parts of the body of the wearer in position. VThe flocked side of the laminated 'structure presents a .smooth and even velvety finish and as the flocked side of the material when made in a garment is presented to the body of the wearer, the minute perforations 9 are hidden from view and the fabric side of the garment that is exposed presents the natural appearance of the material originally treated.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believed that the characteristics thereof will at once be apparent and while there is herein shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is nevertheless to be understood thatminor changes may be made therein without departing from ther spirit and sco'pe of the invention as claimed.

An elastic-fabric of composite. type having its opposite sides presenting facesl diifering inappearance, with the material of the opposite faces individual tothe zone of such face and with the material of one of the face zones free from interconnection with that of the other, said face zones being united permanently by a uniting material possessing elasticity and located intermediate of Iand concealed by said face zones, the completed fabric being characterized by its non-similarity 30 the process are shown and described in copendacterlled in that the opposite face zones are rem respectively of a knitted fabric and ilocking-materiahtheunitingmaterinibelngoirubber ehn'-i acteristic, said knitted fabricV and uniting materia! being united in artorm toplsce both as untensioned when the compodte fabric is in 5 

